Process of extracting sugar.



"No. 687 ,386. v Patented Nov; 26, I90l.

B. SCHWERIN. PROCESS OF EXTRACTING SUGAR.

(Application filed May 25, 1901.)

(No Model.)

liwentor:

UNITED STATE ATENT Genres;

BOTHO SOHWERIN, OF MUNICH, GERMANY.

PROCESS OF EXTRACTING SUGAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 687,386, datedNovember 26, 1901. Application filed May 25, 1901. Serial No. 61,912-(No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,B0TH0 SCHWERIN,asubject of the King of Prussia,Emperor of Germany, residing at No. 6 Prinz Ludwigstrasse, Munich,Bavaria, German Empire, have invented a new and useful Process ofExtracting Sugar; and I do hereby declare that the fol lowing is a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the art of extracting sugar from saccharinematter-such as beet-root,su gar-can e, sorghum, and the likeby theagency of the electric current; and it has for its object to so operatethe electrical treatment that decomposition of sugar by inversion isavoided.

I have found that when saccharine material previously reduced to asuitable state of disintegration and inclosed in a wet state betweenwalls which are pervious to liquid and of which one is used as thenegative electrode is acted upon by the electric current, with theinterposition of a layer of water between the material to be treated andthe positive electrode, a liquor is caused to percolate through thenegative electrode, which consists of a watery solution of saccharoseand soluble albumen compounds and which proves to be perfectly free fromorganic and inorganic salts, as also from invert-sugar in case thematerial acted upon does not contain invertsugar-as,forinstance,pulpfrom normal beetroots-whereas with such materials as containinvert-sugar-for instance, ground sugarcane-the amount of invert-sugarpresent is i not increased as far as the action of the current isconcerned. From the liquor obtained the sugar and albumen compounds caneasily be obtained separately by known processes. The result stated isdue to the fact that the electric current exerts a double or compoundaction upon the dissolved or soluble compounds of the material--that isto say, those components which are dissociable by the action of thecurrent are electrolytically decomposed, the cations accumulating at thenegative electrode and the anions at the positive electrode in the waterseparating the same from the material, while those components whichresist the decomposing action of the currentviz., the sugar, the solublealbumen compounds, and the water--are subject to whatis calledelectro-endosmosisthat is to say, are driven to the negative electrodesothat by using a pervious electrode a watery sugar solution contaminatedwith albumen compounds is delivered to the outside.

The cations accumulate at the negative electrode principally in the formof dissolved hydroxide of the alkaline metals and of ammonium,which,aswell known to those skilled in the art, have no inverting action uponcanesugar, while the acid-forming ions or anions, which become invertingagents, accumulate at the positive electrode and remain separated fromthe material by the interposed bpdy of water, whereby they are preventedfrom acting upon the sugar. Moreover, sugar withdraws the more and morefrom the positive electrode as the process goes on.

The present invention consists in inclosing the saccharine material in astate of suitable disintegration and mixed or thinned, it required ordesirable, with more or less water between a body of water and anelectricallyconduetive wall pervious to liquid and con nected with thenegative pole'of a source of electricity, driving the sugar and othernondissociable dissolved constituents toward and through the negativeelectrode by passing the current through the material by means of apositive pole placed into the said body of water, collecting the liquoras it percolates through the negative electrode, and separating thesugar from said liquor in known manner.

The terms disintegration and disintegrated as used in this specificationand its annexed claims are intended to express in a broad sense anysufficient degree of subdivision.

In practicing myinvention I prefer to proceed as follows, referencebeing bad to the annexed sheet of drawings, illustrating in adiagramlnatical manner the apparatus used,

the same being shown in a longitudinal sec-- tion.

The saccharine material--for exam ple,beetroot slices or strips-isfilled in a verticallydisposed box 1, the rear wall of which isconstructed of fine wire-gauze 2, while the other or front wall consistsof filtering-cloth 3, both wood, which box is open at top and toward,

the filtering-cloth. This box is then filled with water and the positiveelectrode 5 placed in the water. This electrode is preferably asolublemetal electrodefor instance, iron, zinc, or aluminium-for thepurpose of binding the acid anions with formation of insoluble .tion.shows the absence of sugar in the percolating liquor.

salts. ,The wire-gauze wall 2, which is preferably made out of copper,is connected with the negative pole of the source of electricity (notshown)for instance, a dynamo. When the circuit is closed, liquor beginsto percolate through and run down at the outside or the negativeelectrode and is collected at the lower end in a vessel placed below orreceived, as in the figure, in a gutter 6, leading to a reservoir.(Notshown) The waterwhich under the electro-endosmotical action of thecurrent wanders from the box t into the box 1 is continuously replacedfrom a water-supply 7. As the electrical" resistance in the box 1increases in proportion with the decomposition oftheelectrolytically-dissociable components of the material, I prefer toincrease the intensity of the current correspondingly in order toexpedite the electro-endosmotical ac- The current is shut off as soon asa test The liquor obtained in the manner described possesses an ammoniacal odor and a strong alkaline reaction and is of a greenishbrowncolor, owing to the presence of ammonium and sodium albuminates. Thelatter are precipitated from the liquorin known manner and the sugarobtained by crystallization from the filtered- 0E liquor, which shows tobe but slightly colored. The saccharose thus obtained is perfectly freefrom invert-sugar.

Instead of being vertically arranged the apparatus may also behorizontally disposed, preferably with the water-box at top and thenegative electrode at bottom.

.What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is-

1. The process of extracting sugar which consists in placing thesaccharine material to be treated in a disintegrated and wet statebetween a negative electrode pervious to liquid and a body of water,placing the positive electrode into said body of water so as to separateit by a layer of Water from'thc sac- .charine material, driving theelectrolytically non-dissociable liquid bodies present toward thenegative electrode by passing a current through the said body of waterand material by means of saidelectrodes, collecting the liquorpercolating through the negative electrode and separating therefromsugar, substantially as and for the purpose'specified.

2. The process of extracting sugar which consists in placingthesaccharine material to be treated in a disintegrated and wet statebetween a negative electrodepervious to liquid and a body of water,placing the positive electrode into said body of water so as to separateit by a layer of water from the saccharine material, driving theelectrolytically non-dissociable liquid bodies present toward thenegative electrode by passing a current through the said body of waterand material by means of said electrodes, increasing the intensity ofthe current in proportion as the electric resistance of the materialincreases, collecting the liquor percolating through the negativeelectrode and separating therefrom sugar, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

3. The process of extracting sugar which consists in placing thesaccharine material to be treated in a disintegrated and wet statebetween a negative electrode pervious to liquid and a body of water,placing the positive electrode into said body of water so as to separateitby a layer of water from the saccharine material, driving theelectrolytically non-dissociable liquid bodies present toward thenegative electrode by passing a current through the said body of waterand material by means of said electrodes, increasing the intensity ofthe current in proportion as the electric resistance of the materialincreases,

supplying water to replace that driven into the material from the bodyof water surrounding the positive electrode, collecting the liquorpercolating-through the negative electrode and separating therefromsugar, substantially as and for-the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

BOTHO SOHWERIN.

\Vitnesses: V

HENRY HASPER, WOLDEMAR HAUPT.

